Corrugated nail stick



May 8, 1962 I M, w ss ETAL 3,032,767

CORRUGATED NAIL STICK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS N4 THAN M 1445/55 BY PH/L A/P E, dqueew/mu W? t/f/ar' eye May 8, 1962 Filed Nov. 2, 1959 N. M. WEISS ETAL 3,032,767

CORRUGATED NAIL STICK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States 3,032,767 CORRUGATED NAIL STICK Nathan M. Weiss, San Fernando, and Phillip E. Saurenman, Pasadena, Calif.; said Weiss assignor to Saurenman Company, Inc., El Monte, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Nov. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 850,418 2 Claims. (Cl. 1-56) This invention relates to fastening devices, and more particularly to an improved corrugated-type nail and a method and means for forming and packaging such nails for automatic nailing.

- A serpentine nail is well-known form of nail for securing a pair of elements together, e.g., wood or plastic panels, etc. Such elements are placed together and a corrugated nail is positioned so that it contacts both elements. The nail is then struck with a hammer so that it is embedded in both elements, thereby to hold them securely together.

Efforts heretofore made to construct nailing machines for stacking corrugated nails have been unsuccessful. Since such nails are inherently closely nested when stacked, a driver cannot readily engage only one of the serpentine elements. Instead, and due to the close nesting arrangement, the conventional driver would engage portions of two or more nails during the ejection stroke. Consequently, where only one nail is in a position to be moved out of a machine, such application of force against two or more nails results in damage to the nails retained, and also jamming of the machine.

Due to the various diificulties encountered in attempting to utilize stacked corrugated nails in nailing machines, it has been generously conceded that success in this regard cannot be achieved. For this reason, corrugated nails are treated on the same basis as ordinary nails that have pointed shanks, i.e., they are good only for manual selection and positioning.

The driving of corrugated nails with conventional hammers is objectionable on various grounds. For example, it is desirable that a corrugated nail be held in a position normal to the surface it is to enter, and that all portions of the nail be subjected to the same force when it is driven into the surface. Otherwise, the nail may enter the surface at an angle, and with greater penetration on one end than the other. Entry of a corrugated nail in this fashion may result in the surfaces being marred. Also, the position of such a nail in an element means that they are not held together as firmly as when all portions of the nail are driven normal to the surfaces.

It is an object of this invention to provide a unique corrugated nail construction.

It is another object of this invention to provide corrugated nails stacked for use in a nailing machine, wherein the nail construction prevents such nesting as might prevent ejection of single nails from the stack. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a unique method of forming a corrugated nail structure and stacking such nails to form a self-supporting cartridge from which single nails can be removed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a nailing machine adapted to accommodate a package of stacked corrugated nails, wherein the construction of the nails eliminates the possibility that adjacent nails may become jammed in a magazine.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a nailing machine arranged to select individual nails from a stack of corrugated nails without any danger of damage to the nails or the machine.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following descrip- 3,032,766? Patented May 8, 1962 tion taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE la is a top plan view of a pair of meshing gear elements for feeding a strip of metal having a sharpened edge therebetween to form serpentine corrugations thereon, and showing means for cutting the strip to desired lengths to form serpentine nails;

FIGURE 1b is a partial sectional view of a pair of forming dies, showing the dies preparatory to deforming certain portions of a corrugated nail placed therebetween;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of means for supporting a re-formed corrugated nail while deposit ing adhesive material at spaced points thereon;

FIGURE id is a fragmentary sectional view of a chan nel member and a guide element for stacking and forming a self-supporting cartridge of the corrugated nails that have been supplied with adhesive material;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of one of the corrugated nails, showing the sharpened edge thereof to effect its entry into an element;

FIGURES 3-6 are respective top plan views of different shapes of corrugated nails having portions re-formed in accordance with our invention showing some of the nails facing in opposite directions to illustrate the effectiveness of their construction in preventing complete nesting of adjacent nails;

FIGURE 7 is -a partial perspective view of a magazine supporting a cartridge of corrugated nails formed in accordance with our invention, showing the magazine approximately centered with respect to the abutting edges of a pair of panels, and showing a driver element positioned adjacent the open end of the magazine to effect separation from the cartridge of one of the nails to be driven into the panels; and

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation view, partly in section, of one form of nailing machine for supporting the magazine and the driver of FIGURE 7, and showing the driver in position wherein one of the corrugated nails has been forced into-the panels.

Referring to FIGURES la-ld, our invention employs means for forming serpentine nails (FIGURE la), further forming certain portions thereof (FIGURE 1b) applying an adhesive (FIGURE 10) and stacking the re-forrned nails to form a cartridge (FIGURE 1d). In FIGURE la, a strip 10 of metal is fed between gears 11, 12 that have their peripheral surfaces shaped to form serpentine corrugations 13 in the strip 10. One of the gears 11 is driven by a motor 14, which preferably operates to effect movement of the strip 10 between the gears 11, 12 at a constant speed.

After the corrugations 13 are formed in the strip 10, the strip is cut at spaced points, as at a station at which the strip passes over a support 15 having a slot 16 therein. A cutting element 17 is provided that has its" cutting edge adapted to be actuated to pass through the strip lit and into the slot 16. The operations of the gears 11, 12 and the cutting head 17'may be synchronized to cut nails to any desired length, such as five corrugations each.

The foregoing operations, of course, result in forming conventional serpentine nails. In accordance with our invention, certain portions of the corrugated nails are further formed so as to provide a nail construction that cannot be completely nested. To this end, and referring to FIGURE 1b, for a serpentine nail 19 having five corruga tions, we utilize a die 20 that has a pair of substantially ing of the nail, and to locate the end corrugations adjacent the ribs 21, 22.

Spaced from the die 20 is a cooperating die 24 having a pair of substantially rectangular grooves 25, 26 parallel to the ribs 21, 22. The surface of the die 24 intermediate the grooves 25, 26 has a surface formed in serpentine fashion to mate with, or nest in, the three corrugations intermediate the end corrugations of the nail. The grooves 25, 26 of the die 24 are substantially wider than the ribs 21, 22, so that when the die 24 is closed upon the die 20, the corrugations disposed on the ribs 21, 22 are flattened so as to conform the shapes of the ribs 21, 22. In this operation, of course, the element 2.3 is forced into the die 29. As shown in FIGURE 11), this results in a corrugated nail with end corrugations 3t), 31 in the form of channels having flat web portions and legs.

FIGURE 3 illustrates how the corrugated nail structure of our invention prevents nesting. Referring to FIG- URE 3, there is shown a number of corrugated nails 3235 arranged in a stack, the nails 32, 34, 35 having their channel-shaped ends 30, 31 facing in the same direction, and the nail 33 having its channel-shaped ends 30, 31 confronting those of the nail 32. For the adjacent nails 34, 35, it will be seen that the outer legs of the channelshaped ends 30, 31 of the nail 34 ride on the web portion of the ends 3%, 31 of the nail 35. The nails 33, 34 are back-to-back, so that the web portions of the ends 30, 31 of these nails ride on each other. And as for the nails 32, 33 that have their channel-shaped ends 30, 31 in confronting relation, it will be seen that the legs of such ends are in abutment. Thus, in all arrangements, there are two or more spaced flat surface portions in contact with each other that serve to prevent nesting of adjacent nails. A further advantage of these spaced fiat areas is that they establish points or areas of contact whereby to effect the stacking of nails in precise parallel relation. How this feature is employed to advantage will be made more evident hereinafter in connection with the operation of a nailing machine.

Preparatory to stacking corrugated nails in accordance with our invention, we move each nail from the nail-forming station of FIGURE lb to a succeeding station wherein the nails are coated with an adhesive (FIGURE 1c). Referring to FIGURE lc, there is shown a nail 36 supported on a positioning element 37 that is provided with ribs 38, 39 for mating engagement with the channel-shaped ends 30, 31. Spaced from the positioning element 37 is a reciprocally movable structure 40 having spaced grooves 41, 42 that are adapted to fit over the channel-shaped ends 30, 31 of the nail 36, and an intermediate groove 43 that spans the remainder of the nail. The structure 46' contains an inlet 44 for adhesive material, such as glue, outlet port connections 45, 46 to the spaces within the grooves 41, 42.

When the structure 46 is closed on the positioning element 37, the glue passes through the port connections 45, 46 and is deposited on the adjacent surfaces of the web portions of the ends 31 31. The outlets of the port connections 45, 46 are positioned so that dabs of glue, indicated at 48, 49, are deposited upon the web portions of the ends 30, 31.

After the glue is deposited on the nail 36, the structure 40 is moved away from the positioning element 37, and the nail is moved to a station (FIGURE 1d) wherein it is positioned at the mouth of an opening 50 of a guide member 51. To aid in this respect, the guide member 51 is provided with a stop 52 disposed in the path of the nail 36, and a force is applied to one end of the nail, as indicated by the arrow 53, to urge the opposite end thereof against the stop 52.. In this position, the nail 36 is adapted to be moved into the opening 50 of the guide member 51.

To effect movement of the nail 36 into the opening 50, we provide a movable element 54 that has spaced ribs 55, 56 located so as to engage the web portions of the channel-shaped ends 30, 31. Preferably, the ribs 55, 56 are located so that upon engagin the web portions 4; of the channel-shaped ends, they will not contact the dabs of glue 4-8, 49. Accordingly, with the nail 36 in this position, inward movement of the element 54 forces the nail into the opening 50. In this manner, successive nails urged into the opening 39 result in their channelshaped ends 30, 31 coming into abutment, whereupon the glue deposits 48, 49 how against the inner leg portions of the channel-shaped ends. Upon the glue deposits drying, the nails are held in fixed spaced relation with respect to each other. Therefore, after a sufficient number of nails have been placed in the opening 50, and the glue deposits are allowed to dry, the resulting structure is a self-sup porting stack of nails.

It will be apparent that our invention embraces various modifications in the sequence of operations above described. For example, the glue does not have to be ap plied until after the nails are stacked. In such case, it is sufficient to wipe the glue on the edges of the ends 30, 31, to permit it to how on the contacting portions of adjacent nails. Or the glue may be applied to each nail as it is being moved through the opening 501, as through the element 54-. At whatever point in the process the glue is applied, it may be done manually or automatically.

Another variation may be in the cutting of the strip 10. For example, the cuttting head 17 may be located adjacent the element 54, i.e. to cut the desired length of nail at the mouth of the opening 50. This has the advantage that the strip lift is continuous through all steps until stacking is to be done. In such case, and to facilitate cutting, the end corrugations 30, 31 may be provided with outwardly turned ends, or fianges, during the forming process.

Also, the gears 11, 12 or the element 23 may be shaped so that, as in some conventional corrugated nails, the sides of the center corrugations of the nails are spread farther apart at the cutting edge than at the striking edge. Also, the confronting surfaces of the dies 20, 24 may be shaped to form corrugations of any desired shape.

It will be seen that the steps in forming a stack may be carried out automatically. The operations of the forming means, cutting means, stacking means and gluing means may all be synchronized to this end.

FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate our invention utilizing a stack of nails constructed as above described. Referring to FIGURE 7, there is shown a pair of wood panels 60, 61 to be nailed together. A cartridge 62 of corrugated nails constructed as above described is positioned within a magazine element 63 in which is disposed a slidable guide member 64. The guide member 64, like the corrugated nails, spans the width of the magazine 63. A pair 'of springs 65, 66 are provided for urging the guide member 64 toward the opposite end of the magazine 63.

our invention are not in close nesting relation, it is clearthat the driver 68 manipulates only the nail 67 when a force is applied thereto. Also, it will be seen that the lower edge of the driver 68 engages the nail 67 at a plurality of points therealong. This means that the pressure against the nail at each of these various points is the same, and all portions of the nail 67 are caused to extend to the same depth into the panels 60, 61, and normal to the surfaces thereof.

Referring to FIGURE 8, there is illustrated a pneumatic nailing machine 70 constructed to operate nails formed in accordance with our invention. As shown, the nailing machine has a cylindrical chamber 71 to which air, as though a hose connection 72, is supplied. As in a conventional pneumatic hammer, the machine 70 may have a manually operable valve device (not shown) in the connection 72 for selectively applying air to the chamber 71, and a piston, indicated at 73, to be forced downwardly upon the build-up of sufiicient air pressure in the cylinder; when the air pressure on the plunger 73 is below a predetermined amount, the plunger is biased to an uppermost position. The driver 63 is adapted for actuation by the plunger 73, such driver being movable in a guide element 74 that is secured to the cylinder 71.

As shown, the magazine 63 is secured to the guide element 74, with the open end of the magazine 63 being adjacent the driver 68. The lower portion of the guide element 74 is undercut, as at 75, so as to provide a space between the driver 68 and the lower end of the guide element 74. This space is dimensioned so that when the driver 68 is in the raised position, a nail is forced past the open end of the magazine and against the guide element 74. In this position the nail is directly below the lower edge of the driver 68, as in FIGURE 7. Thus, when the driver 68 is forced downwardly, it separates a nail 67 from the stack and forces it into the panels 60, 61. In the lowermost position of the driver 68, the adjacent nail of the stack is biased against the driver 68. On the next succeeding upstroke of the driver 63, the adjacent nail is forced against the lower end of the guide element 74 so as to be in position to be forced out of the magazine by the driver 68 on its next succeeding downward stroke.

The nail construction of our invention has the unique advantage that it permits the use of a nail having a continuous sharp edge. As shown in FIGURE 2, the nail is formed of a rectangular strip of metal which is sharpened on one edge, as indicated at 80. As is well known, such continuous sharp edges are not suitable for purely serpentine nails, for the reason that all portions of the nail struck with a conventional hammer (that is manipulated by hand) are not struck with a uniform force throughout. If a continuous sharp edge were employed for a serpentine nail, the occasional entry of a nail at an angle into a pair of wood panels is too likely to cause the surfaces thereof to be chipped. Accordingly, it is often the practice to form the sharp edge of purely serpentine nail with a number of points, i.e. in sawtooth form, as by removing material between crests of the corrugations. Such an operation is, of course, rather expensive and time-consuming, thereby inhibiting mass production of corrugated nails and causing the cost thereof to be undesirably high.

However, with the corrugated nail structure of our invention, since we insure their being driven into a panel only in a direction normal to the plane of the surface thereof, we are able to provide the nails with a continuous sharp edge, thereby eliminating the time-consuming and costly procedures heretofore involved in the manufacture of serpentine nails. Due to the application of the same force at a plurality of points along the width of the striking surface of our nail, the sharp edge 80 is caused to enter an element normal to the surface throughout its length. Of course, it will be apparent that corrugated nails having a sharpened sawtooth-like edge can be formed and stacked by our method, and operated by our nailing machine.

Although we have illustrated and described a particular form of corrugated nail in connection with FIGURES la-ld, it will be apparent that various shapes of corrugated nails can be made in accordance with our invention. For example, FIGURE 4 illustrates a stack of corrugated nails 8l83 formed of metal strips of three corrugations, wherein the portions of the end corrugations adjacent the middle corrugation are provided with sharp bends. As is apparent, regardless of how the nails are turned they are not nested. FIGURE 5 illustrates a stack of corrugated nails 84-86 formed from serpentine strips having five corrugations, but wherein only the corrugations adjacent the middle corrugation are formed into channel-shaped members. FIGURE 6 illustrates a stack of nails 8789 formed of metal strips of three corrugations, wherein the outer legs of the end corrugations are deformed so as to provide a sharp bend. If desired, all of the corrugations may be deformed in the manner of the deformed corrugations herein shown and described.

Although we have shown corrugations formed so that adjacent nails are in non-nesting relation, it will be apparent that they can be formed so as to be partially nested, i.e., the confronting surfaces of the corrugations of adjacent nails are slightly spaced. If such a partial nesting arrangement is used, it is only necessary to position the driver 68 so that it contacts only one nail. Thus, for example, the driver strikes only the aligned crests of the corrugations; the nail construction provides enough points of contact to insure its being driven in the desired manner. Thus, it will be seen that we do not intend that our invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In combination: a plurality of non-nestable corrugated nails of uniform length, said nails being arranged in a stack wherein they are all coextensive, said nails being formed with flat portions in parallel planes, adjacent nails being in contact only at said flat portions; and means causing adjacent nails to adhere to each other, whereby to form a self-supporting stack of non-nestable nails.

2. A package of fastening elements comprising; a stack of corrugated elements of equal length, each of said elements having a striking edge and a sharp edge for penetrating an object, said elements being formed with spaced fiat surface portions in repective parallel planes, adjacent elements having only spaced surface portions in contact with each other, the remaining surface portions of adjacent elements being spaced from each other; and adhesive means for securing adjacent elements together at predetermined ones of said spaced surface portions.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5l5,168 Rasner Feb. 20, 1894 1,068,990 Dunham July 29, 1913 1,328,911 Cary Jan. 27, 1920 2,743,445 Lerner May 1, 1956 2,942,267 Cusurnano June 28, 1960 FOREEGN PATENTS 846,161 Germany Aug. 11, 1952 

